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Which Was Better: Unforgiven 2001 Main Event or Unforgiven 2002 Main Event?

September 16, 2014 | Posted by Justin Watry

We are going to take a break from looking at “news” stories such as WWE selling their tape library to Warner Bros., John Cena being kept strong, and other gems out there. With WWE Night of Champions this Sunday, it seemed appropriate to take a look back the pay-per-view event’s past for a fun debate. When originally putting this column together, the premise was going to be about the most memorable title changes. The night were every championship is on the line – makes sense. However, that column quickly went nowhere, so plans changed. Instead of trying to come up with a topic on Night of Champions, why not discuss the previous annual September WWE PPV?

Yep, Unforgiven! Started in April as an “In Your House” but ended up in September as a stand alone PPV. While not as cool sounding as Backlash or No Mercy, it was still fairly awesome in its own right. Since main event matches are what sell, that was my main focus. The Unforgiven events up to 2000 were pretty ‘blah,’ so those were ruled out. I thought abut breaking down John Cena vs. Edge in 2006, but that match and feud was so great that nothing would truly compare. Eventually, two EVENLY paired Unforgiven main events came to mind…

Which Was Better: Unforgiven 2001 Main Event OR Unforgiven 2002 Main Event?

Build for Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold: WWE Championship Match (2001) – Ah, yes. The wonderful and always highly controversial Invasion story line. I loved it and do not deal in “fantasy booking” with all the variables/impossibilities that are often brought up. For the reality of everything combined and the performers involved, it was a great/exciting few months of WWE television. At the center of most of that was Kurt Angle and Stone Cold Steve Austin battling it out for Vince McMahon’s hugs…and more importantly – the WWE Championship. Stone Cold had (again) turned heel in July, taking the title belt to WCW and ECW’s The Alliance. With The Rock taking a hiatus and Triple H out with injury, it was up to Kurt Angle to “save the day” and bring the gold back home to where it belonged. After getting screwed at Summerslam in August (Stone Cold got himself DQ’d on purpose), all eyes were set on Unforgiven for the big rematch. In Angle’s hometown of Pittsburgh. Not even a devastating pile driver from Austin could keep Angle down. He was coming for Stone Cold and the WWE Championship!

Build for The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: WWE Championship (2002) – Brock Lesnar had defeated the Hardyz, Bubba Ray Dudley, Test, Rob Van Dam, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, and The Rock just months after debuting. Not only was he the reigning King of the Ring, he was an undefeated WWE Champion. With his always-so-trustworthy agent Paul Heyman by his side, he was unstoppable and thanks to Stephanie McMahon, he was also exclusive to Smackdown. Just jumping ship as well from Raw? None other than The Undertaker! He was looking for gold and coming after The Next Big Thing. In the hype to their long awaited title bout at Unforgiven, things were made personal when Brock and Heyman decided to include Taker’s pregnant wife Sara. In an instant, it was no longer about the prized championship belt. The Deadman wanted to pummel and beat down Brock Lesnar like nobody had ever before.

Match quality of Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold: WWE Championship Match (2001) – This bout began before it even began. Kurt Angle was not going to wait around for their usual Steve Austin entrance. He took it straight to him, as the hometown crowd backed the Olympic gold medalist. Patriotic pride was at an all-time at the time, and that was going to lead Kurt Angle to victory no matter what. Stone Cold was not going to get himself DQ’d this time. It was the usual back and forth contest you would expect from these two (very good), but it had a fun sense of inevitability that a new champ would be crowned, and the moment would be awesome. True to expectations, Angle made Steve Austin tap out to the Ankle Lock (though he had his other hand under the rope, more on that later) to become WWE Champion. Fans erupted, and the Angle family sitting at ringside entered the ring for a massive celebration, as did the WWE roster to congratulate the man. Kurt Angle had brought the championship back home.

Match quality of The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: WWE Championship (2002) – You knew this thing was going to get ugly when in the first second of the match, Brock Lesnar took a few step forward, came nose to nose with The Undertaker and just stared him down. No fear. No intimidation from the young WWE Champion. Taker gave it back ten fold moments later, but the message was clear in the opening seconds. Brock was ready for the fight he KNEW was awaiting him. Like mentioned above, Paul Heyman had made thing personal during the feud, so he was outside the squared circle barking throughout the match. Once Taker took care of him, it was back to focus on destroying the champ. While there were a few nearfalls, the ending was never in doubt during this entertaining match. The ending was going to be…no ending. Eventually, this thing broke down into the brawl we all suspected, and when the referee finally signaled for the DQ, the Los Angeles crowd BOOED big time. Seriously, I have never heard a crowd boo a DQ PPV main event finish like that! Taker and Brock continued to go at it. As the PPV was going off the air, The Undertaker threw Brock Lesnar through the stage! This issue was far from over…

Aftermath of Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold: WWE Championship Match (2001) – As awesome as the conclusion to WWE Unforgiven was, it was really more of a ‘one-off’ moment more than anything. Many have speculated the title change only happened because of 9/11 two weeks earlier. I would NOT go that far, but it just seemed like everything lined up for WWE to go ahead with the all American hero winning the gold in his hometown. Furthering that theory, Stone Cold won the championship back in a rematch on RAW weeks later…while Kurt Angle headed for a heel turn shortly thereafter. If WWE truly had long-term plans to give Angle a top tier title reign, none of that would have happened after Unforgiven. Then the entire WCW/ECW story line ended, as Angle/Austin locked up once more on PPV at Vengeance in December 2001. The two would wrestle a few more times before going their separate ways in 2002. However, their many memorable bouts in 2001 hold up very well over time.

Aftermath of The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: WWE Championship (2002) – With most DQ finishes on PPV, it is easy to assume that would require a rematch a month later. Heck, the Angle/Austin Unforgiven 2001 main event came from a non-finish at Summerslam! The same can be said about this Taker/Brock feud in 2002. The DQ brawl actually fit well with everything at Unforgiven 2002 leading to none other than…HECK ON A DECK! Lesnar and Taker were going to lock horns one more time for the WWE Championship at No Mercy 2002. This time, there had to be a winner. Either Taker would get revenge and end the undefeated streak of Lesnar (ironic here in 2014, huh?) OR the young champion would defeat a legend at his own game inside the cell. It would be a tough followup to their Unforgiven clash, but both men were up for the challenge. This go around, there was no doubt about the finish. Brock Lesnar won about as clean as can be and retained his coveted WWE Championship.

WWE Night of Champions is this Sunday night, but the legacy of its predecessor Unforgiven lives on through many great matches including the 2001 and 2002 main events. Which was better though? Vote in the poll and/or leave a comment below.


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